Players get poor advice long before going pro

We often hear about those sneaky, slimy agents giving college basketball players poor advice on going pro. But a lot of times, we fail to recognize that an athlete’s first experience in dealing with influences outside of the family comes during the recruitment process. And at that point, it’s not the agents giving poor advice. It’s the college coaches.

The latest example is UConn’s Doug Wiggins, the 6’1 sophomore guard who announced his intentions to transfer from the university recently.

Wiggins was the best player in Connecticut during his senior year in high school and was all set to go to St. John’s before Jim Calhoun swooped him up late in the recruitment process. The lure of playing for the program he grew up watching was just too much for him to pass up.

There were times when Wiggins played well during his two years in Storrs. There is no question that he could start in the Big East. Just not regularly at UConn, where one could make the argument that Calhoun recruited him simply so he wouldn’t have to deal with the backlash of letting another great Connecticut player leave the state. A couple of years before Wiggins, Ryan Gomes became a star at Providence and Dave McClure, an All-American, went to Duke.

At St. John’s, Wiggins could have become the go-to-guy on a program in serious need of a leader. Instead, he became a rotation player in Storrs, and because the Huskies are bringing in an All-American point guard, he fell a little more on the depth chart.

Don’t get me wrong. We can’t place all the blame on Calhoun for stealing Wiggins away from the Red Storm. This happens all the time. Kids have the right to change their mind. But one doesn’t go from a second-rate program to a recent National Champion without being led to believe he could make a true impact.

You wonder if anyone told him he might become expendable.

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Random Rumblings

• It was only natural to hear a disclaimer come with any World Series prediction that didn’t involve the Red Sox, Yankees or Mets. Something like, “I realize this won’t make Fox very happy, but I’m going with the Indians and Rockies,” or “in a series no one will watch, I like the Mariners over the Braves.”
  
  It’s true. Baseball benefits from a northeast-centric World Series the same way the NBA will if the Lakers and Celtics end up meeting in the Finals this June.
  
  But let’s face it. Even if the Angels and Brewers or Spurs and Magic are playing for World Titles, it’s not like either sport will suffer that much.
  
  Not the way women’s basketball will. A Tennessee/Connecticut final had the chance to be one of the truly special games played in sports this year. And it had little to do with the talent – it’s not like Stanford pulled some major upset. It’s everything else involved that could have made the women’s game, played well below the rim, relevant to even the most narcissistic fan. The rivalry. The hatred between the coaches. The top two players in the country. It had the chance to be as intriguing as a title game could be.
  
  The Huskies blew the opportunity to make that happen. But it’s the women’s game that took the biggest hit.
  
  
• Did you catch the story about the guy out of Lansing, MI who hit the lottery for $136 million and immediately quit his job? It made me think about Pedro Martinez, who ever since hitting the jackpot with the Mets, has pretty much spent ten months vacationing and only two doing his job.
  
  And don’t give me the garbage about you never knowing what can happen with pitchers. You never know about their arms. But a hamstring? To me, that signifies laziness.
  
  
• Derrick Rose is exactly what the Knicks could use. And assuming the team can be under the cap by 2010, he’ll be just the type of guy LeBron James wants to play with.
  
  We’ll sit tight until then.
  
• Rose’s Memphis squad has to be one of the most exciting teams I’ve ever watched in college. They’re as athletic a team as we’ve ever seen and they are coached by a guy who now seems to be a surefire Hall of Famer.
  
  
• It’s time Hasheem Thabeet make his decision already.
  
  
• If getting to the finals is the only way for Phoenix to look like it made the right move by trading for Shaq, the team better count its losses now because they are even worse on defense now than before.

• After one week, a Toronto/Arizona World Series looks promising.

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A sorry attempt at previewing the National League

Now I realize that you probably care about my baseball predictions even less than I care about yours, but I’m going to give them anyway, if for no other reason than to hold myself accountable, like the people who track their weight loss on their personal blogs.

And I’ll be honest, I don’t know as much about these teams as I like to think, so if you want previews that will probably be a little more accurate, you can go here and here.

National League East
The Atlanta Braves lost 25 games by one run a year ago. If they are able to cut that number in half, they should make a serious run at the division title. Still, it’s hard not to like the Mets, who would have won it last year if not for a historic collapse. Now Johan Santana comes in to head one of the most underrated rotations in all of baseball. I think the Phillies will be the team that takes the biggest step back, and they’ll finish a distant third. Washington and Florida, obviously, have no chance.

Order of finish
New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, Florida

National League Central
It’s strange to see the Chicago Cubs as the biggest lock in baseball, but I can’t argue with the predictions of seemingly ever expert. They might have the best 2-4 hitters in the National League, and Kosuke Fukudome has already gotten off to a nice start. The bullpen might be a concern, but they should address that by the trade deadline. The sexy sleeper that never lives up to expectations seems to always come out of this division, and Cincinnati will be no different this season. They certainly have a deep bullpen, but they’ve got no left-handed starters and their leadoff hitter is Corey Patterson. Yuck. Like Philly in the East, I think Milwaukee will take a step back this year. I’m not sold on their pitching at all. If anyone will surprise you in this division, I have a feeling it will be St. Louis, a team everyone is down on.

Order of finish
Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Houston, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh

National League West
Most of the league might be unwatchable, but the NL West makes MLBTV worth purchasing for me. There are all kinds of great storylines here. Arizona’s pitching makes them the favorite, but I’m excited to see how their lineup comes together. For a group that put up laughable numbers last year, they seem to have so much promise and I think the team will win 100 games. Colorado will be interesting. On one hand, any team that goes on the streak they went on last season has to be good. On the other, they weren’t great for most of the season. In Los Angeles, people seem to think Joe Torre has the magic touch, but I think we are all overrating his abilities. That team will not score enough. Neither will San Diego. And I would bet my home on the Giants losing more than 90 games.

Order of finish
Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco

MVP
Aramis Ramirez

Cy Young
Johan Santana

ROY
Kosuke Fukudome

NLDS
New York over Chicago
Arizona over Atlanta

NLCS
Arizona over New York

World Series
Arizona over Toronto

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A sorry attempt at previewing the American League

Now I realize that you probably care about my baseball predictions even less than I care about yours, but I’m going to give them anyway, if for no other reason than to hold myself accountable, like the people who track their weight loss on their personal blogs.

And I’ll be honest, I don’t know as much about these teams as I like to think, so if you want previews that will probably be a little more accurate, you can go here and here.

American League East
Baseball people can say whatever they want, but injuries that occur in Spring Training seem to always hurt teams during the season, and there was no shortage of guys banged up –particularly pitchers—this year. Josh Beckett, Andy Pettite and Scott Kazmir were all slowed this spring and start the season on the disabled list. So how will the division play out? Get ready for the Yankees, who somehow seem to be the media’s sexy World Series pick, to be the biggest flop. How can anyone expect anyone in that aging lineup, other than Robinson Cano, to improve? And while I recognize that Chien-Ming Wang has won 19 games two years in a row, is a guy who has the second worst k/9 among No. 1 starters in the majors really someone you want as your stopper? I think it comes down to Boston and Toronto in this division and to be honest, I like the Blue Jays pitching a lot more.

Order of finish
Toronto, Boston*, Tampa Bay, New York, Baltimore

American League Central
While I totally buy into position players producing more during their contract year, I think the added pressure on pitchers can be very negative. That’s why I’m concerned about C.C. Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians. That means the team will need Fausto Carmona to be just as dominant as last year, which is asking a lot. I like the Tigers to win the Central comfortably. On paper, they have one of the great lineups in recent history, a true ace in Justin Verlander and a very good rest of the starting rotation. The bullpen is certainly a huge cause for concern, I expect them to go out and make a move at some point – why not Chad Cordero?

Order of finish
Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota

American League West
Seattle is going to win this division despite having one of the worst run-producing lineups in the league. Why? Because they might have the best one-two punch in the A.L. in Eric Bedard and Felix Hernandez, the guy I think will win the Cy Young Award. And if that offense is really struggling come June, I wouldn’t be surprised if Barry Bonds ends up in a Mariners uniform. I don’t really like the rest of the division. The Angels can flat out mash, but their pitching staff is starting the season in shambles. Oakland is going to trade Rich Harden at some point and Texas has zero pitching.

Order of finish
Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Texas

MVP
Miguel Cabrera

Cy Young
Felix Hernandez

ROY
Evan Longoria

ALDS
Toronto over Seattle
Detroit over Boston

ALCS
Toronto over Detroit

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